Judith Rohrer – Holding On

Initiator Artist: Judith Rohrer
Artwork Title: Holding On
Size:
Medium: Mixed Media
Price:  $435

Responder Author: Peter Dudley
Writing Title: Mosaic
Size: 11″ x 17″
NFS

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Mosaic

She sidled toward me in the seven a.m. chill

Along the back of the apartment building

A tall blonde with experience in her strut

Passing the dormant dumpsters

With a sway and a swagger

A casual pace oozing confidence

Short sleeve white sweater

Too thin for the cold fog

Pink denim pants and comfortable flats

She looked like someone

I might enjoy seeing closer up

The closer she got the more she unraveled

A patchwork existence fraying

Mismatched parts collected haphazard

Stitches ripped out and re-stitched

Her seams held together with threadbare hope

Each step an unsteady lean toward faith

She tottered to an uncertain stillness

Her watered-down eyes unfocused in my direction

And in a syrupy stench of box wine she asked

do you know where two oh six is

that’s where I live

Had she been out all night or all week?

I told her we’d find it together

And as we weaved our way to two oh six

She dropped promises of detox and rehab

Like a smoker shakes ash from a cigarette

She pushed open the unlocked door

And from the stairwell before I left

I asked her name

Even though I knew it already

 

Copyright © 2024 by Peter Dudley